The Detective Prince's of Junes
by Souji Narukami
Summary: After receiving a new case involving a missing person from a mysterious client Naoto decides it might serve as a nice lesson in detective work for Yosuke, but soon the two learn that this new case isn't as simple as tracking someone down. How will they both balance this new case, the events in Inaba and their daily school lives?
1. A New Case in a New(ish) Place

**Authors Note: well, figured I'd give this a try, never written anything before and suddenly I currently have a 12 chapter plan that is growing all the time. I hope you enjoy it, if even a little.**

**Chapter One: A New Case in a New(ish) Place**

_"His name is Kumotta Sukai."_

Naoto scribbled down notes, as the man on the other end of the phone continued to explain the assignment he had for her. A man by the name of Kumotta Sukai had gone missing, and was believed to be held up somewhere in Okina City. Finding him seemed to be of the up most importance to the firm voice on the other side of the line, so Naoto pushed for more information.

_ "An e-mail has been sent to you with the phone number of Mr. Sukai's wife, you should start there."_

With each passing second of the call Naoto was growing more suspicious of this man's motive for finding Kumotta. She needed to find out more information regarding the mysterious voice, and the only way of doing so was to ask a question she knew would be answered even if he were to say nothing on the matter.

"Have you not questioned Mr. Sukai's wife yourself already?"

There was a brief interlude of silence, before the voice gave something away.

_ "We'll be in touch."_

Suddenly all that Naoto could hear through the phone was the dial tone, but even that became silence as one word from this man's final sentence ran through her mind.

** 'We'll...'**

Why would one man refer to himself as a group? It didn't seem to add up. She knew that right now she had two choices; the first was not taking the case and informing the authorities of Kumotta Sukai's disappearance and risk this mysterious man hearing wind of this; the second was to find Kumotta first and tell him and his wife to get as far away from here as possible. Then again if they haven't already talked to or threatened his wife then clearly finding him wasn't as important as the voice on the phone made it out to be.

Naoto rubbed her eyes before looking at the time on her laptop, which right now was serving as the only source of light in her room.

_ 11:59 pm..._

She hung up her phone, and placed it on the desk next to the laptop before moving herself over to her bed, collapsing onto it. As her eyes closed lazily, the last thought that flashed across her mind was.

_At least is wasn't raining..._

After what felt like mere minutes, Naoto awoke to find what was once her dark room illuminated by the sunlight piercing though the curtains. She slowly pushed herself off her bed and to her feet, realising she had fallen asleep in her uniform once again. She stretched before rubbing her eyes, turning to her desk and taking a seat. She took a big yawn before opening her e-mails to find one that had yet to be opened.

**From:** RX848U(a)posthaste•com **Subject: **Chihiro Sukai's Phone Number.

The lack of a normal e-mail address made Naoto even more suspicious. She opened a web browser and entered 'posthaste•com' to find nothing but a blank web page, exhaling a little in annoyance. There was something not right about all of this. Sighing, she went back to the e-mail and opened it once again.

The body of the e-mail contained only the number, and nothing else. Naoto picked up her phone from the desk, thinking of her plan on how to tackle this situation. If this mysterious man had already tried to contact Kumotta's wife she may simply hang up if Naoto can't give the name of the individual she was hired by. It's more likely that Kumotta's wife had already gone to the police.

Naoto saw this as her best bet, by stating that she works with the police and that they passed this case onto her she was more likely to get the answers she needed. It was the only way.

She began dialing the number from the e-mail, and within two rings there was a softer voice on the end of Naoto's phone.

"H-hello? Who is this?"

"He-..."

Naoto took a moment to clear her throat, realising these would be the first words she'd spoken today.

"Hello Mrs. Sukai? My name is Naoto Shirogane, I'm with the Police, and I'm calling with regards to your Husbands disappearance."

"Oh, oh thank God, it seemed like they weren't taking me seriously when I went to the station yesterday." Mrs Sukai sounded relieved.

"I can assure you Mrs. Sukai, all cases are taken seriously."

Naoto smiled a little to herself, she always got a little buzz when she assessed and took the correct course of action in a case.

"Well, that's good to know, I told the officer at the front desk everything I could think of that might help finding him." Said Mrs. Sukai, she sounded a little tired, she must have been up all night worrying.

Naoto opened up a blank word document and pinned the phone between her head and right shoulder, ready to type.

"Okay, Mrs. Sukai, I'm going to need you tell me everything you told that officer."

Naoto took notes diligently as Mrs. Sukai explained that her husband had gotten back from work and went for a shower; after he had dried himself and changed clothing he went back out, leaving behind his phone and wallet and taking no other clothes with him. She went on to talk about how he couldn't be seeing another woman because they had only recently married. Naoto quickly changed subject.

"What about any friends or relatives that live near by Mrs. Sukai, could he have stayed there the night?"

"I already checked with them." Exclaimed Mrs. Sukai. "The only friends we really have right now are other couples and they would have told me if he was there. The only other person I can think of who might know where he is is his mother but...we're not on the best of terms right now..."

"That's okay." Naoto mused, scanning through the notes she had just taken.

"Just tell me where I can find his Mother and I will talk to her."

"She's in the Okina General Hospital" Mrs. Sukai replied instantly like she was taking pride in it. Was Mrs. Sukai the reason Kumotta's mother was in hospital? Maybe that's why this mysterious man chose not to threaten her...?

"Okay," Naoto finalised, trying to get those thoughts out of her mind. "At my next earliest convenience I will contact Miss...?"

"...Hiyoko." Mrs. Sukai replied, almost as if it pained her to say it.

"Hiyoko." Naoto repeated, as she added it to her notes. "I will talk to her and share with you any progress I make, thank you for your time Mrs. Suka-"

"Please find him..." Mrs. Sukai interrupted, her voice quivering slightly.

"I'll do my best, and please, try to get some rest." Naoto replied sincerely, before hanging up.

Noticing the time on her laptop, Naoto quickly saved all the notes, and e-mailed copies to her own email address, so she can go over them again at a later date. As she grabbed her phone and school bag, she quickly rushed down stairs and put her shoes on before leaving the house.

During the walks to and from school was when Naoto would do the most thinking about the cases, but she couldn't help but think about the investigation team. While they had been successful in preventing a number of murders, they now had no lead suspect after Naoto proved that Mitsuo wasn't the culprit.

She shuddered a little, remembering what she had to face as a result of that. Well maybe she could make it up to the team by helping one of them grow as an investigator. Naoto's mind instantly went to Narukami, he seemed the natural choice, but then she remembered information she had gathered from Rise.

It seemed although Narukami would take the lead in battle and tactics inside the TV world, outside of it there was only one person presenting theories as to who the culprit might be; Yosuke, and it looked like he was quite good at it. He suggested the theory that it was people who appeared on TV who were targeted.

She thought it over a bit more before deciding that she would ask Yosuke for assistance with this missing person case. It was the best idea.

Arriving at the school gates, Naoto noticed Yosuke standing in front of the entrance to the school, deciding that it would be better and less embarrassing to ask him now rather than at lunch when everyone else would be around. She approached him.

"Yosuke-senpai." Yosuke turned around, looking as carefree as always.

"Oh, hey Naoto-ku-..."

Yosuke paused to correct himself, as she stood in front of his line of vision.

"Naoto-chan, man, that's really gonna take some getting used to." She laughed a little in response

"I'm fine with you using 'kun' if that is what you're used to." Yosuke shook his head.

"Noooo way, if Kanji caught me talking to you like you were a dude he'd probably knock seven shades of... everything out of me." They both laughed before Yosuke asked what Naoto needed.

"Actually." Naoto muttered, having almost forgotten why she had started a conversation with him. "I was hoping you'd meet me after school so we'd have more time to discuss what I wish to ask you, would you meet me on the roof once you're done with your final class today?"

"S-sure... do you want me to round up the whole gang?" Yosuke asked, looking a bit flustered by the request.

"No, just you Senpai, I'll see you then, okay?"

"Okay." Yosuke replied, unsure over what had just happened.

**[A quick aside, forgive the way the e-mail address looks in the story, I was unaware of this sites policy on censoring website links and possible e-mail addresses.]**


	2. A Magician's Fortune

**Author's notes: Thank you so much for the reviews and follows of this story, it means a lot to me and I hope to not let any of you down!**

**Chapter Two: A Magician's Fortune**

Yosuke tapped at his desk nervously as he stared at the clock, the white noise Mr. Hosoi had become still fell like it slowed down time.

_"Five more minutes till I have to meet Naoto-ku-... chan, Naoto-chan."_

His inner monologue had been on overdrive since this morning, Naoto inviting him to the roof to discuss something privately, what could it be about? Could it be about the case? No, she would have gathered the whole team for that, right?

He continued to try and piece together reasons in his mind as to why Naoto might need to talk to him, but each thought lead to the answer of the team, until one little theory popped up in his head just as the bell to end the day rang.

_"A confession of love?"_

Yosuke jumped up from his seat, and to everyone else in the vicinity it must have looked like that he was incredibly glad that school was over for the week; but in reality his own thought had scared him.

"Whoa! If you're that eager to get back to Junes you can take me along and buy me a steak." Chie commented as the whole class began packing up their stuff.

"Any excuse for a free meal." Yosuke replied, sarcastically; grateful that her remark had snapped him back to reality.

"If you want a steak that badly just buy your own." Yosuke remarked tiredly as he stood up and grabbed his bag. He just wanted to get out of the room, and discover what Naoto wanted to discuss with him.

"But free steak tastes better!" Chie said as she lent over her desk, dramatically sighing.

Narukami, having noticed that Yosuke looked like there was somewhere he needed to be, interjected.

"Well, as long as we could bring Nanako with us, I'd treat you."

Chie jumped to her feet, her face aglow with excitement as she grabbed Yukiko's arm.

"You hear that Yukiko!? Narukami's giving us free steak!"

Narukami smiled as he looked over at Yosuke; he appeared happy, but his eyes seemed to scream_ "save yourself"._ Yosuke nodded and left the classroom, he'd never forget the day his partner took that bullet.

Yosuke noted that the halls of the school were still pretty empty as he decided which set of stairs he wanted to take to the 3rd floor. It would be awkward to bump into Naoto now, so he decided to rush up the main stairs as it would mean less time spent on the 3rd floor.

A wave of relief came over him as he continued up the stairs and reached the roof, but as he gripped the handle of the door, that same thought crossed his mind again.

_"Is Naoto gonna tell me she loves me?"_

His throat felt like sandpaper as he gulped from nerves, but he knew he couldn't stand there all day. Although he got out of class as quickly as he could he had no way of knowing if he was the first one to the roof, so he steeled himself and opened the door to find Naoto waiting, looking at her phone.

Yosuke was taken a back, he got out of class as quick as he could and yet there Naoto was, waiting for him. He took a deep breath and walked over to her, closing the door behind him.

Naoto looked up from her phone to notice him, pocketing it as she greeted him.

"Yosuke-Senpai, thank you for coming." She smiled at him as he walked up to her. Yosuke decided to play it cool, after all, he wasn't entirely sure that it WAS a confession of love.

"Hey Naoto-chan... hey I got it right that time, what do you need?" Yosuke uttered, he knew that's as smooth as he would ever get.

"Your assistance in a case I've been hired to look into." Replied Naoto simply, which caused Yosuke's heart to skip a beat, though his relief quickly turned to confusion.

"Okay, why me?"

"Rise informed me that you were the one who would regularly share theories as to who the culprit might be to the murders and kidnappings taking place here in Inaba. I wish for you to accompany me tomorrow as I work this case in the hope that you learn from the experience and grow as an investigator." Naoto explained.

Yosuke took a moment to think about his response; he'd never thought about it like that. He'd always considered it a joint effort between the whole team, not just down to one man.

"Wouldn't it be better if you asked Narukami?" Yosuke wondered, as Naoto smiled again; which made Yosuke nervous. It felt like one of those detective shows, where the detective already knew everything about the case, but felt like toying with the suspect just for the hell of it.

"I believe Narukami-senpai already has enough additional jobs and activities he does when not spending time with any of us or entering the TV world." Naoto retorted, her tone became softer as she continued.

"If it's about spending time with just me I can assure you my intentions fall under two categories, a desire to educate a peer, and a wish to spend time with a friend; while we are more comfortable spending time together in a group I believe we should continue to strengthen our bonds with each other on an individual basis just as Narukami does."

Yosuke let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Well, I guess I can't argue with a detective's logic." He said, his natural care free demeanor returning to him. "When do we get started?"

"Tomorrow." Replied Naoto, "If we meet at the Junes food court tomorrow at 11a.m. I can recap everything I know of the case so far, from there we can decide our next course of action."

"Sounds great." Yosuke replied, and shortly afterwards they both headed down from the roof, and said their goodbyes as they left the school grounds. Yosuke smiled to himself as he walked home.

_"I guess I'm owed some good fortune." _He thought to himself.


	3. Detecting Talent

**Author's notes: Hello everyone, thank you for reading and reviewing it means the world to me.**

**P.S. how about that Persona 5 trailer huh? Incredible.**

**Chapter Three: Detecting Talent**

Yosuke sighed as he sat alone in the regular spot the investigation team would meet up. He was waiting for Naoto, cringing at the terrible repetitive music from Junes. With that thought in mind, he decided it better to block it out with his own music. Thank goodness for convenient headphones.

He leant back in his chair and cranked the volume a little, he always felt weird being sat alone at the place he worked on days off, like anyone could ask him for his help at any moment. As he started to get comfortable he felt a tap on his shoulder, it was Naoto. Yosuke removed his headphones as she took a seat next to him, placing a folder down on the table in front of him.

"Hey Naoto-kun." he smiled, taking out his phone to turn his music off completely. Naoto smiled back.

"It would seem you're more comfortable using 'kun', you should stick to it." She replied. It slowly dawned on Yosuke the mistake he made, he face palmed.

"Ah shit, sorry." Yosuke laughed, "I'm just to used to seeing you as a dude I guess." Naoto kept smiling.

"Well I'm still getting used to being addressed as a female so I'm actually grateful, everyone else seems to have adjusted to the change rather quickly." Yosuke chuckled a little. As he opened his mouth to continue the conversation, Naoto cut him off.

"Still, we're not here to discuss that." She opened the folder so Yosuke could peruse the information that laid before him. "This man, Kumotta Sukai, he went missing 4 days ago, and his wife says that after returning from work Kumotta-san showered and left of his own accord with no indication of where he was going or why he was leaving."

Yosuke took out a picture of Kumotta that was in the file. Having watched a lot of detective type shows on TV he figured there might be some kind of indication about what criminal activities Kumotta might be involved in, but there wasn't anything off about him. He just looked like a normal everyday guy. Naoto smiled to herself, knowing what Yosuke was trying to look for.

"Okay." Yosuke finalised, turning to Naoto to ask a question. "Well what was his job?"

"No idea," She replied simply, "but I believe it holds no bearing on the case."

"Well, what makes you so sure 'ace'?" Yosuke chirped in a joking tone. Naoto ignored him, and answered the question.

"His wife didn't mention what he did, if it was work of importance to warrant such action as a kidnapping or for him to work late she would have mentioned such a thing at the time."

Yosuke raised both eyebrows in shock; he was surprised a joke got such a well thought out answer. He remained silent as he expected Naoto to continue, but she just sat there expectantly. Was she waiting for Yosuke to ask another question? He cleared his throat, starting to become a little nervous.

"Well." He paused for thought, starting to take things more seriously.

"If it wasn't for work then it must have been for something personal, but wouldn't his wife know about something like that?" He looked at Naoto, like a student would a teacher for approval. She gave a slight nod, like she was pushing him to continue.

"Soooo...maybe an affair?" He muttered, with almost zero confidence behind what he said, he felt exhausted already. Naoto gave him a faint smile to let him know it was a good thought before continuing.

"Kumotta-san's wife was very adamant to me that there was very little possibility of another woman considering they had only recently married, while that in itself isn't enough to rule out the possibility, we gain very little at this point by pursuing it."

"Unless." Yosuke interjected, "he's with his mistress now."

"True." Naoto agreed, smiling as she did. She'd started to find it rather fun to be discussing a case with another person after being so used to working alone.

"But do you think a cheating man would leave without an excuse?"

"Well, I mean... probably not." Yosuke muttered, slightly annoyed that his theory had been trounced. Naoto laughed before returning to debriefing Yosuke, informing him of Kumotta's hospitalized mother, and how she's the reason Naoto believes that Kumotta hasn't left Okina City.

"Okay." Yosuke smiled, convinced he figured it out. "We have a photo so we know what he looks like, I say we just go stake out the entrance of the hospital. Easy."

Naoto looked down in an unsuccessful attempt to stifle laughter, Yosuke couldn't help but join in, he found this side of her he'd never seen before funny.

"Okay 'little miss Sherlock'." Yosuke joked as her laughter died down. "What's your plan of attack?" Naoto took a moment to compose herself.

"No, your plan was good, it just goes to show that you're actually rather impulsive. You thought of the best idea you could but forgot about other engagements such as school, your job and the case in Inaba. A full time detective could do a stake out but we are not afforded that luxury."

Yosuke nodded in agreement before Naoto continued.

"As such, I believe our 'plan of attack'." She smiled as she said it. "Should be to ask Kumotta-san's mother where she believes her son may be located."

She collected Kumotta's file from the table as she stood and gave Yosuke a smile to let him know to follow her, and the two headed out of Junes to where Naoto had a car waiting for them. Once they both climbed in and Naoto had instructed the driver where to take them, she turned to Yosuke.

"Now." She started, her tone had become more professional then when in Junes. Yosuke figured it was because the driver was there with them.

"The drive there will take a little while so consider this your first assignment in your training as an investigator." Yosuke nodded, he figured while joking around was fun he should show that he was taking this seriously too.

"During the journey I want you to think about why asking Kumotta-san's mother where he might be is our current best course of action, once we reach the hospital I will require an answer from you. Are we clear?"

"Well... y-yeah." Yosuke stuttered, to him the situation had suddenly turned into a test. "But do you want AN answer or THE answer?"

Naoto smiled before she turned away from him to look out the window leaving Yosuke with nothing but time to think.


End file.
